What’s in a number?
When it comes to Scripture, there is often more—much more—to a number than meets the eye. Take, for instance, the number twelve. Although that number doesn’t appear directly in today’s readings, its presence and meaning are readily evident once we go digging around a bit.
Today’s reading from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles describes how Peter, the head apostle, stood up in the midst of a “group of about one hundred and twenty persons.” There are some meaningful multiples of twelve in the New Testament, and this, I think, is one of them: 12 x 10 = 120.
Appearances of twelve are plentiful in both the Old and New Testaments; scholars widely agree it is one of the most important numbers to be found in Scripture. Jacob had twelve sons (Gen. 35:22) and from them came the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:28). Having led the people out of slavery in Egypt and met God at Mount Sinai, Moses built “an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel” (Ex. 24:4). Jesus, of course, appointed twelve men as apostles (Mk. 3:14), representing the new Israel, which will judge the old Israel (Lk. 22:28-30) at the end of time.
Twelve, then, stands for God’s chose people and the authority given to them to rule and to reign. The number ten, in Scripture, consistently represents perfection, fulfillment, and completion. Multiply the two and you have the embryonic Church—the chosen people of the New Covenant, the Body of Christ—ready to be born and revealed on Pentecost.
First, however, a closely related matter had to be addressed: a replacement for Judas, who had been numbered among The Twelve, but who had betrayed his Master. Peter appealed to Psalm 109, which describes how those with “wicked and deceitful mouths” utter lies against God’s chosen One, attacking him without case and betraying his love with false accusations.
The decision was made: “May another take his office.” This apostolic office was a special position of authority and oversight, closely related to “the office of bishop” Paul wrote about in his first letter to Timothy (1 Tim. 3:1). The Twelve were more than bishops, however, as the Catechism explains:
The Lord Jesus endowed his community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else, there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter as their head. Representing the twelve tribes of Israel, they are the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem. The Twelve and the other disciples share in Christ’s mission and his power, but also in his lot. (CCC 765)
Speaking of lots, what are we to make of the curious manner by which Matthias is chosen as a replacement for Judas? Did Peter and the others use the equivalent of a coin toss to decide between Matthias and Barsabbas? Not really, especially since the process of selecting specially marked lots (either sticks or stones) was not understood to be a matter of chance, but a means given by God to help discern his will. In the Old Testament, lots were used for making any number of important decisions, with the belief that God was in control of the outcome (see Lev. 16:7-10; 1 Chron. 24:31, Josh. 19:1-40).
Augustine pointed out that this use of lots was prior to Pentecost, and that subsequent decisions, such as the selection of the first deacons (Acts 6:3-6), were made without the use of lots. Having been filled with the Holy Spirit, the Church’s leaders would draw upon the Holy Spirit through prayer and shared counsel.
Twelve, Augustine also noted, is a sacred number. “These twelve,” he wrote, “were to make known the Three [the Trinity] … throughout the four quarters of the world. That is the reason of the three times four.”
In Scripture, numbers usually add up to more than the sum of their parts.
(This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in the May 24, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)
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We read: “Twelve, Augustine also noted, is a sacred number [….]”
St. Augustine also had a theory on why Scripture takes the trouble to mention that the fishing net contained 153 fish (Jn 21:1-14), rather than 152 or 154 or anything else…
One explanation is that, at that time, it was believed that there were 153 species of fish in all the world. So, the number is symbolic of catholicity. But Augustine proposed a different theory. He explained that when we combine the 10 Commandments with the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit (or maybe it was the 7 sacraments?), the total is 17; and then when we add the complete sequence 17 + 16 + 15 + ….! The total is 153. In his mind, something here about the complete Christian life.
Yours truly has long wondered why the Jewish Law, in awaiting the Messiah, contained exactly 613 laws, rather than anything else….I humbly propose that the number 613 is the total of the (average) 365 days seen in the permanence of sun and the solar year, combined with 248 which in olden times was the believed number of parts to the earthly human body. Is the number 613 a subliminal anticipation of the incarnate unity of heaven and earth in Jesus Christ?
Just askin’, why 613?
(True, the Hebrew calendar had only 354 days, but an extra lunar month was added seven times in each cycle of 19 years, rendering the average Hebrew calendar year about the same length as a solar year, or 365 days.)
Thank you, Author/Editor C. E. Olson, for this glimpse at the significance of Biblical numbers from which I’ve learned “lots” 🙂 And I appreciate the formulas both you (and Mr. Peter B.) presented.
In my own life, I have also noticed God’s seemingly timely presentation of personally significant numbers- as if “Godwinks”- when I have been in need of consolation. Especially delighting my mom’s heart is our exact three-digit house number where I raised my dear Catholic children/home schooled for over a decade. Probability for me noticing those license plate numbers just doesn’t explain seeing those when most in need of consolation since they’ve grown. Of course, the Lord of the Universe can use anything He chooses for His purposes (ROMS 8: 28). And He does.
Mr. Peter B., interesting thought about St. Augustine’s interpretation of the Catholicity of the number of 153 fishes. Of that Scripture, JOHN 21: 5-11 (The Holy Bible Douay-Rheims Version), wrote St. Louis de Montfort, the Marian priest, that ‘153 is the number of Angelic Salutations, whereby Our Lady’s Rosary prayers intercede for us’, drowning in the world’s ocean of sin. I could extrapolate further, that the net of the Holy Rosary- which De Montfort states ‘didn’t break’ (Secret of the Rosary, 1863/2019, p. 111), pulls we Christians (-who made the fish symbol crudely represented by opposing arcs drawn in the sand upon the meeting of 2 secret Christians)- into the Ark/boat/Catholic Church to salvation.